


On The Balcony

by ALargeBear



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: F/F, Light Angst, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-09 18:41:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19481737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ALargeBear/pseuds/ALargeBear
Summary: It was how Chika always felt. She just needed to put it into words.





	On The Balcony

Deep down, Chika wondered if all the worries and fears were worth it.  If all the practice she had done beforehand, and all the doubts that wouldn’t leave her mind were something she needed to overcome at all .  If all the words of encouragement from her family and friends were something she could find enough confidence in .

Deep down, she wondered if Riko would even care, and that may have been the biggest fear.

Months had  been spent coming to understand a feeling that at first, Chika wanted nothing to do with. Love was never something she thought much about. Love was always that thing shoehorned into movies that got in the way of all the good bits.  Love was something that happened in fairytales and  was gossiped about amongst the older girls at school .  Love was never something that the normal monster Chika Takami ever needed to concern herself with .

Love was something made for those amazing people worth admiring, and not a country girl from some small town in Japan .

Those thoughts  were made worse when Chika understood that it was love.  That twisting of the heart whenever Riko looked into her eyes was so unique it took everything not to blurt it out on the spot . The only thing stopping Chika being her fears, and an odd thought that it didn’t matter anyway. Because in the end, she was  just Chika, and Riko was Riko. Amazing, talented, and shinning Riko.

Riko was her polar opposite.  A city girl raised in Tokyo with a talent and passion for music that Chika believed she could have never felt herself . Riko had a dream, a passion, that Chika watched rekindle into something special.

Chika knew of the way Riko talked about her.  How special she was for starting Aqours, how amazing she was for helping Riko find her passion again, and how Riko believed she had a shine all her own .  Chika had heard it all, and that may have been where the small bits of confidence she could find  were mustered from, but it didn’t mean the same thing . It couldn’t have, right? What Chika felt was love, and what Riko felt was friendship. That was how she kept any hope in check, and how the fears won out in her head.

But Chika had friends. Wonderful, caring friends that made sure she knew not to let those fears win.  From late night pep-talks over the phone with You, encouraging cheer from the first-years, and experienced advice from the third-years . Chika found a will to try.  A hope that if a goofy little country girl could form an idol group than  maybe she could confess to a girl she adored more than any other .

It was those thoughts that lead to Chika taking deep breaths on her balcony in the middle of the night. The spring air was cold as it rolled off the ocean's waves, but Chika couldn’t feel it over her red cheeks and sweaty palms.  Months of practice and prep had lead to a moment may be more important than standing on the Love Live stage, but this was  just her . No audience, no friends,  just her and the girl she hoped wouldn’t break her heart.

One more deep breath before Chika chucked the balled up paper the short distance to Riko’s window. No turning back as the paper left her fingers and hit with a quiet, unceremonious thud.

The seconds of waiting the worst part of it all. The anxiety almost pushing her to turn around and head to bed as if nothing ever happened, but she couldn’t. She was stronger now, Riko always told her she had a lot to be confident in, so that was where she kept her hope.

The glass door slid open without any ceremony and Riko emerged in pajamas and rubbing at her eyes.

Chika stood up straight, eyes wide and doing everything to keep her jittery hands still. “Ah, did I wake you up Riko? I’m sorry I didn’t mean to.”

Riko yawned as she put her arms back at her side. “Don’t worry you didn’t wake me up I was getting ready to go to bed.”

Chika didn’t talk as Riko stared not a single hint of annoyance or displeasure, but she still couldn’t find her voice.

“What did you want to talk about?” Riko asked as her head drooped to the side. “You know we have school in the morning?”

Chika swallowed down some doubt, allowing herself to speak up. “I know, but this is important so I needed to tell you right now.”

Riko kept silent as she stared, more attentive, and urging Chika to continue.

“It’s, umm.” The words were hard to find. Chika thoughts jumbled into a mess of love for Riko that couldn’t come out right. “I needed to tell you something.”

“You already said that.” Riko leaned forward on the balcony wall. “You never look this nervous Chika. If it’s that important take your time.”

Chika bit her bottom lip, falling even further as Riko showed nothing but care. It wouldn’t make the confession come any easier. Only helping to solidify feelings she was already much too sure about.

A bark from Shiitake helped Chika focus. Bringing her back to a world that was  just her and Riko. “I need to tell you something about how  I feel .”

Riko kept her head tilted but quirked an eyebrow urging Chika to continue.

“I’ve been thinking about it a whole bunch lately and if I don’t tell you now I’m going to explode.” Chika pulled her eyes away from Riko, focusing instead on the space  just behind her. Red cheeks only darkened, and those sweaty palms gripped and wrinkled shorts. “Because I’m super in love with Riko Sakurauchi.”

More silence and Chika couldn’t read anything from the short glances at Riko’s face. The silence more unnerving than all the months leading up to the confession. So as those seconds turned into minutes Chika couldn’t stop herself.

“It’s  just , you’re so beautiful and talented and caring and amazing I can’t stop thinking about it.” Chika’s thoughts spilled out in a daze, failing at fighting back tears she told herself not to cry. “I don’t think you’ll ever love me back or anything like that since I’m  just plain ol’ Chika, ya know?  But you’re still so amazing and I love you so so much that I couldn’t help it anymore so I told you and know  I feel dumb because it’s almost midnight and I’m making things weird now, but I can’t help it . I love you so much, Riko and I can’t hold it anymore.”

Chika couldn’t focus on anything but her own sniffles and tears. The only thing keeping her from running was her legs being too weak. So she waited for a response that she had already decided was coming. Preparing for a broken heart everyone told her not to worry about.

“How many times have I told you I hate it when you say things like that?”  Riko's question  was asked through slight tears of her own, there was an edge to her voice, not one Chika was sure she’d ever heard .  “If you’re going to confess to me, do it as the shining leader of Aqours that won Love Live and changed peoples lives, not as ‘plain ol’ Chika’ .”

Looking up, Chika saw cheeks that she was sure were as red as her own, and eyes as bloodshot, but filled with a determination she had never seen . The silence tense but she knew what to say.

“How about this, then.” Chika took in another deep breath, the last of the night. “I love you, Riko. You’re the most talented, beautiful and amazing person I’ve ever met and I really really want to be your girlfriend.”

No silence as Riko’s expression softened. “I can’t believe it took you this long. I was so scared I was being too obvious about it.”

Hope came rushing in as Chika's eyes sought out nothing but Riko. “What does that mean?” she asked, before pulling away from the final grip of self-doubt.

“Silly.” Riko chuckled, propping her elbows up with her head in her hands. “It means I love you, Chika.”

  
  



End file.
